To buy Australian or US shares, you’ll need to exchange your money into AUD or USD. You can exchange money in advance, whenever you want, or you can exchange money when you place a buy order.
You will need to sign up to invest in US shares before you'll have the ability to convert NZD to USD. Go to Explore, and answer a few questions to get started.
If you don’t have enough money available in the relevant currency required, we’ll look to exchange the money available in the other currencies held within your Wallet.
You’ll need to top up your Wallet if you don’t have enough money to complete the exchange needed to place an order. You can top up your Wallet in NZD, AUD, or USD currency by making a bank transfer from an NZ bank account to Sharesies (make sure you transfer the money to the correct Sharesies bank account).
To exchange money:
Log in to Sharesies.
Go to Wallet > Exchange money.
Choose the currency to exchange, and enter your order amount. In the details dropdown, you’ll be shown an estimated exchange fee and exchange amount based on the current exchange rate.
Review the details of your exchange request and confirm your order. The exchange rate will be locked in once you confirm your exchange.
Exchange money when placing an order
When you buy an Australian or US investment, you’ll have the option to exchange money in advance, or exchange money when you place an order.
If you don’t hold the relevant currency for your order we’ll look to exchange money available in other currencies held within your Wallet.
Is the exchange rate live?
The wholesale rate that you see on the confirmation screen is the most current rate we’ve received from XE. If the exchange rate moves more than 0.2% up or down while you’re on the confirmation screen, you’ll see an error and you’ll have to request an exchange again.
Can I trade currency on Sharesies?
Sharesies is built to buy and sell shares, not for trading currencies.